Technology: Fast ferries halve the time for channel crossings

High-speed ferries that are as wide as a football pitch and travel at 40 knots are to be built in Finland for the shipping line Stena Sealink, which operates ferries across both the English Channel and the Irish Sea.

The two ferries, which together will cost £130 million, will be the fastest ships of their size. They will be able to carry up to 50 heavy lorries and as many as 1500 passengers.

The fastest ferries now operating across the English Channel are two Seacats, which were built for the rival ferry firm Hoverspeed by International Catamarans, of Tasmania. These vessels have a top speed of about 35 knots, but carry only about 400 passengers. They do not take lorries.

Like the Seacats, Stena Sealink's high-speed ferries will be catamarans. Their power will come from two gas turbine engines in each hull, one large and one small. The large gas ...

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